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(teamwork)chapter 5, tidbit n°...I forgot. Hit the "tags" thinger and scroll down. XP
here's more of the meal. The dialogue is stiff in places, and the action needs some smoothing in a few points, but. I'm reaching a stopping point just in time to eat, so. :D
Sasuke only stopped himself from snarking back that it was nothing to be proud of because Sakura's mother chose this time to walk in and announce that dinner was ready.
The seating arrangement was... Hmm. Each parent at one end, with Sakura on one side and Naruto and him safely away on the other side. Maybe they were afraid they'd grope Sakura under the table or something.
As if the table was too wide to prevent playing footsie, if they had been so inclined.
They exchanged some small talk during the entree. Weather, food. Sakura's mother seemed to relax a little, even unbending so far as to reply civilly to Naruto a couple of times, and her father didn't make Sasuke feel as if their littlest twitch was taken in and analyzed.
Then somehow it shifted onto the flowers Naruto had brought -- he didn't mention that they had been Ino's sole responsibility, but somehow admitting that he didn't have a clue how to choose them without help made the Harunos chuckle softly; private joke? The mood was getting better at least -- and then on the Yamanakas. A nice family, yes, and more grounded in the civilian life than many, and, oh, would Sakura still be found there if her parents happened to be in the neighborhood?
Well. At least she could have asked that more bluntly. Sasuke decided that she probably didn't want things to get ugly -- yet -- or else she would have asked point blank if they would be shacking up soon.
"Yes, mom, I'm still there. And going to be there a while, I think. We don't have the kind of income needed to get our own place yet."
"Hmm. Where do you young men live?" her father asked, turning to look at Naruto and him.
Sasuke shrugged. "We're sharing my apartment for now. It isn't a place to raise a child, though; it's only a small bachelor pad."
Hana closed her eyes briefly; her husband gazed down at the table, expressionless. Sasuke wondered what he had said, and then realized that none of them had even mentioned the word "child" or "baby" before; the whole reason why they were entering that weird relationship in the first place.
"Yeah, it's so tiny, there isn't even place for a second futon, I have to sleep on his couch and it really bl--OW." Naruto paled briefly at Sakura's murderous glare, and then grinned sheepishly. "I mean, it's really not comfortable."
"But have you started looking around, at least, to get an idea of the prices?"
"Um, not really, mom. We've been kind of busy..."
Hana stared at her daughter. "What do you mean you've been busy? Isn't it important enough?"
"We had more urgent things to worry about," Sasuke intervened, in a tone that implied the things in question were classified. "There's still time."
Hana didn't take the hint, or if she did, it only aggravated her. "More urgent like what? You haven't left Konoha once last month. What could be more important than having a good roof over your heads?"
Naruto blinked, bewildered. "It's not as if Sasuke's roof is leaking--"
Sasuke and Sakura kicked him at the same time, and only narrowly missed each other.
"It is good," her father commented mildly, "that you aren't demanding. But you will have to raise your standards. Children, especially young children, deserve the best their parents can get them, not merely the least they want to bother with."
Naruto stammered, "Ah -- it wasn't -- I didn't mean..."
"He is right. The baby needs the best you can possibly give. So what, exactly, could be more urgent?"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto quickly, and wondered if he, too, had understood that Sakura still hadn't told her parents about exactly how dangerous the pregnancy was. But with the bewildered way he was looking between Sakura and her mother...
"The Chuunin exam," Sasuke interrupted coolly.
"You are planning on taking it?" Hana asked, bewildered.
"Yes, of course. If we don't, we'll have to wait until the baby is at least a few years old."
"But it's dangerous!" she protested.
"We got through it safely last time," Naruto intervened. "And we're loads better this time around."
Hana gave him a look that said he was missing the point by about ten miles. "But she's pregnant."
Naruto blinked. "It's only three months away, she won't be that fat just yet, right?"
Sakura groaned. "Call me fat again and you'll end up wearing your food."
"It's not like it's a bad fat -- ick."
"Stop. Talking. Now."
Sasuke would have rolled his eyes, but he was caught by surprise by her mother's expression. Half "ah, stupid boys" annoyance, a familiar sight on her daughter's face, and half... reluctant amusement? Was she defrosting at last?
"It's still not very safe... Couldn't you wait until afterwards?"
"Mom, we already talked about this... I'll take months to get back into shape, we'll waste even longer."
"Waste -- is this a race?" Hana frowned, sternly.
"Well, all our friends are already Chuunin and all," Naruto replied, grimacing.
Sasuke frowned. The reminder grated. Still Genin at seventeen, that was pitiful.
"It doesn't mean we suck as ninjas, but it was never a good time. Everyone was 'oh, maybe next year' and everything. It wasn't so bad because, yeah, we weren't going anywhere and there was no reason to insist, but now that we're -- I mean, with the baby..." Naruto stole a glance at Sakura, who nodded encouragingly. "Being Chuunin means that we get paid more. And we're gonna need the money, just like you said, old man. Not next year when Sasuke's stash will be empty from paying for the marriage and Sakura will be all tired and getting back into shape and the baby will be there already, but now, soon. So that's why," he finished, nodding determinedly, "we gotta make Chuunin."
Sasuke observed the Harunos as they exchanged long thoughtful looks. Sakura was watching Naruto with faint surprise; and when the blond glanced back at her, vaguely nervous, she smiled.
"Naruto-san?" her father said softly.
Sasuke blinked. He'd addressed them by their family names before.
"My name is Yukihiro, not 'old man'," he finished, face crinkling as he smiled at the blond.
Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, confused, and then slowly started grinning. "All right, sorry... Yukihiro-san?"
Sakura's mother huffed, but didn't comment. Naruto was beaming as if -- Sasuke looked away.
As if he'd been given... things that Sasuke didn't want to think about -- love and acceptance, things that shouldn't have been so novel to him; if he thought about it too much it would make him -- angry, yes, and he had his own share of problems to rage at.
As if he'd been given all that and didn't care who knew. How could he let his happiness spill on his face like that? He was leaving himself wide open; it would be so easy to hurt him with a few words, and what was worse, that hurt would show too. How could he stand to leave his feelings unprotected?
Frowning, Sasuke gave Sakura's mother a look, ready to alienate her forever by giving her a deathglare from hell if she even looked like she was considering taking a jab -- and found her picking at her plate, trying to hide a mildly conscience-stricken look.
... Well, he thought. Well. So maybe she wasn't entirely evil. It left him rather at a loss, though; he couldn't heal, but he could protect... but it seemed that Naruto and his wide-open heart didn't need his protection. And if he didn't have anything else to think about, he was going to start mulling over the reason why such a simple thing could affect the idiot so much, and he really, really didn't want to.
"Are you done, Uchiha-san?" Hana asked briskly, startling him. "Sakura? Everyone? I'll bring the next course."
She disappeared in the kitchen. More small talk ensued; Sasuke participated here and there as they ate, though he would have been at a loss to repeat what exactly he said later on.
They were almost done with dessert when Hana asked, politely, about Sakura's ring. Sasuke stiffened; it sounded like a loaded question. At least Sakura seemed delighted to show it off...
"And who...?" Hana asked, trailing off when she, apparently, couldn't find a polite way to ask.
Bingo.
"It was from both of us," Sasuke replied quietly.
"But I thought you were the one marrying her? That's a done decision, right?"
"I am."
"So if you are the one marrying her, why weren't you the one buying her this ring?"
'Because I forgot.' Yeah, that would go well.
"She can't get engaged to both of you."
"That's exactly why," he replied; still making sure to keep his voice quiet, because he knew that otherwise it would sound haughty.
Sakura closed her eyes briefly. Naruto's hand was clenched on his lap.
"Legally, it isn't possible to marry two people, however much one might want to. We had to choose, rationally, which one of us would be best received as a husband." But in the end, he thought, so hard that he wasn't sure how they didn't hear, in the end it was just a piece of paper. The noble and ancient institution of marriage -- it didn't mean anything to him. What Sakura meant to him -- that wouldn't change because she would gain a new society-approved title. And what Naruto meant to him... there would never be enough words for it, and maybe that was fine. It was special; it was his own. He didn't want to fit it into a mold; compress some parts, cut off some others that had the misfortune of sticking out. He liked it the way it was, the three of them hopelessly tangled together in ways that totally defied common conventions.
"But you still plan on allowing... On -- afterwards..." She paused, waving at Naruto, visibly searching for words. Sakura was tense, eyes still closed in weariness; Sasuke wondered how many times they'd had this argument in private already.
It wasn't cheating if they were all in the same bed, he thought, and fought to find a way to formulate it diplomatically. In the end, "yes" was all he could reply. She looked at him as if he'd just admitted to planning weekly orgies with whichever neighbors felt like dropping in, and got up, starting to gather the dishes. Her expression shuttered, she disappeared, once again, in the kitchen.
Sasuke got up too, bowing quickly at Yukihiro before following her.
"Haruno-san." He clenched his fists briefly as he stared at her tense shoulders; he wasn't sure what to say, he just knew that he had to say something to salvage the situation. "We both ... have... strong feelings for her," he murmured, violently uncomfortable. He hadn't even told them that to their faces; he didn't want to say anything to that woman. But -- if it shut her up. Maybe it would be worth it. Maybe. He couldn't care less about her feelings; but he couldn't stand the thought of making Sakura choose between her parents and her team. If his own mother -- stop. Stop. Don't think about that.
"But you'll get jealous," she whispered, frustrated, and too caught up in her own internal monologue to notice Sasuke's. "You'll get jealous and kick him out eventually -- he'll cause arguments between you and Sakura, it isn't possible to share someone you love like this..."
"No. Naruto... There was a point in my life where I could have... thrown it all away."
He felt sick; he didn't want to share that, didn't -- it was safe when it was locked away, out of his mind where he didn't have to deal with it anymore.
"My -- friends -- my team. The village. I could have -- you know about that. And he brought me back." He repeated, softly, "he brought me back. So I won't -- I will never be jealous of him. The idea is preposterous."
"You love him," she replied softly, peering at him, visibly confused.
Startled, he could only shrug; even under torture, he wouldn't answer that.
"... Like you love Sakura?"
"No," he replied with a snort, "not at all."
She stared at him a while longer, then relaxed. Sasuke hid away all traces of emotion; if she wanted to be relieved by her assumption that his feelings for Naruto were born out of pure, platonic gratitude, he wasn't going to say anything.
Sasuke only stopped himself from snarking back that it was nothing to be proud of because Sakura's mother chose this time to walk in and announce that dinner was ready.
The seating arrangement was... Hmm. Each parent at one end, with Sakura on one side and Naruto and him safely away on the other side. Maybe they were afraid they'd grope Sakura under the table or something.
As if the table was too wide to prevent playing footsie, if they had been so inclined.
They exchanged some small talk during the entree. Weather, food. Sakura's mother seemed to relax a little, even unbending so far as to reply civilly to Naruto a couple of times, and her father didn't make Sasuke feel as if their littlest twitch was taken in and analyzed.
Then somehow it shifted onto the flowers Naruto had brought -- he didn't mention that they had been Ino's sole responsibility, but somehow admitting that he didn't have a clue how to choose them without help made the Harunos chuckle softly; private joke? The mood was getting better at least -- and then on the Yamanakas. A nice family, yes, and more grounded in the civilian life than many, and, oh, would Sakura still be found there if her parents happened to be in the neighborhood?
Well. At least she could have asked that more bluntly. Sasuke decided that she probably didn't want things to get ugly -- yet -- or else she would have asked point blank if they would be shacking up soon.
"Yes, mom, I'm still there. And going to be there a while, I think. We don't have the kind of income needed to get our own place yet."
"Hmm. Where do you young men live?" her father asked, turning to look at Naruto and him.
Sasuke shrugged. "We're sharing my apartment for now. It isn't a place to raise a child, though; it's only a small bachelor pad."
Hana closed her eyes briefly; her husband gazed down at the table, expressionless. Sasuke wondered what he had said, and then realized that none of them had even mentioned the word "child" or "baby" before; the whole reason why they were entering that weird relationship in the first place.
"Yeah, it's so tiny, there isn't even place for a second futon, I have to sleep on his couch and it really bl--OW." Naruto paled briefly at Sakura's murderous glare, and then grinned sheepishly. "I mean, it's really not comfortable."
"But have you started looking around, at least, to get an idea of the prices?"
"Um, not really, mom. We've been kind of busy..."
Hana stared at her daughter. "What do you mean you've been busy? Isn't it important enough?"
"We had more urgent things to worry about," Sasuke intervened, in a tone that implied the things in question were classified. "There's still time."
Hana didn't take the hint, or if she did, it only aggravated her. "More urgent like what? You haven't left Konoha once last month. What could be more important than having a good roof over your heads?"
Naruto blinked, bewildered. "It's not as if Sasuke's roof is leaking--"
Sasuke and Sakura kicked him at the same time, and only narrowly missed each other.
"It is good," her father commented mildly, "that you aren't demanding. But you will have to raise your standards. Children, especially young children, deserve the best their parents can get them, not merely the least they want to bother with."
Naruto stammered, "Ah -- it wasn't -- I didn't mean..."
"He is right. The baby needs the best you can possibly give. So what, exactly, could be more urgent?"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto quickly, and wondered if he, too, had understood that Sakura still hadn't told her parents about exactly how dangerous the pregnancy was. But with the bewildered way he was looking between Sakura and her mother...
"The Chuunin exam," Sasuke interrupted coolly.
"You are planning on taking it?" Hana asked, bewildered.
"Yes, of course. If we don't, we'll have to wait until the baby is at least a few years old."
"But it's dangerous!" she protested.
"We got through it safely last time," Naruto intervened. "And we're loads better this time around."
Hana gave him a look that said he was missing the point by about ten miles. "But she's pregnant."
Naruto blinked. "It's only three months away, she won't be that fat just yet, right?"
Sakura groaned. "Call me fat again and you'll end up wearing your food."
"It's not like it's a bad fat -- ick."
"Stop. Talking. Now."
Sasuke would have rolled his eyes, but he was caught by surprise by her mother's expression. Half "ah, stupid boys" annoyance, a familiar sight on her daughter's face, and half... reluctant amusement? Was she defrosting at last?
"It's still not very safe... Couldn't you wait until afterwards?"
"Mom, we already talked about this... I'll take months to get back into shape, we'll waste even longer."
"Waste -- is this a race?" Hana frowned, sternly.
"Well, all our friends are already Chuunin and all," Naruto replied, grimacing.
Sasuke frowned. The reminder grated. Still Genin at seventeen, that was pitiful.
"It doesn't mean we suck as ninjas, but it was never a good time. Everyone was 'oh, maybe next year' and everything. It wasn't so bad because, yeah, we weren't going anywhere and there was no reason to insist, but now that we're -- I mean, with the baby..." Naruto stole a glance at Sakura, who nodded encouragingly. "Being Chuunin means that we get paid more. And we're gonna need the money, just like you said, old man. Not next year when Sasuke's stash will be empty from paying for the marriage and Sakura will be all tired and getting back into shape and the baby will be there already, but now, soon. So that's why," he finished, nodding determinedly, "we gotta make Chuunin."
Sasuke observed the Harunos as they exchanged long thoughtful looks. Sakura was watching Naruto with faint surprise; and when the blond glanced back at her, vaguely nervous, she smiled.
"Naruto-san?" her father said softly.
Sasuke blinked. He'd addressed them by their family names before.
"My name is Yukihiro, not 'old man'," he finished, face crinkling as he smiled at the blond.
Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, confused, and then slowly started grinning. "All right, sorry... Yukihiro-san?"
Sakura's mother huffed, but didn't comment. Naruto was beaming as if -- Sasuke looked away.
As if he'd been given... things that Sasuke didn't want to think about -- love and acceptance, things that shouldn't have been so novel to him; if he thought about it too much it would make him -- angry, yes, and he had his own share of problems to rage at.
As if he'd been given all that and didn't care who knew. How could he let his happiness spill on his face like that? He was leaving himself wide open; it would be so easy to hurt him with a few words, and what was worse, that hurt would show too. How could he stand to leave his feelings unprotected?
Frowning, Sasuke gave Sakura's mother a look, ready to alienate her forever by giving her a deathglare from hell if she even looked like she was considering taking a jab -- and found her picking at her plate, trying to hide a mildly conscience-stricken look.
... Well, he thought. Well. So maybe she wasn't entirely evil. It left him rather at a loss, though; he couldn't heal, but he could protect... but it seemed that Naruto and his wide-open heart didn't need his protection. And if he didn't have anything else to think about, he was going to start mulling over the reason why such a simple thing could affect the idiot so much, and he really, really didn't want to.
"Are you done, Uchiha-san?" Hana asked briskly, startling him. "Sakura? Everyone? I'll bring the next course."
She disappeared in the kitchen. More small talk ensued; Sasuke participated here and there as they ate, though he would have been at a loss to repeat what exactly he said later on.
They were almost done with dessert when Hana asked, politely, about Sakura's ring. Sasuke stiffened; it sounded like a loaded question. At least Sakura seemed delighted to show it off...
"And who...?" Hana asked, trailing off when she, apparently, couldn't find a polite way to ask.
Bingo.
"It was from both of us," Sasuke replied quietly.
"But I thought you were the one marrying her? That's a done decision, right?"
"I am."
"So if you are the one marrying her, why weren't you the one buying her this ring?"
'Because I forgot.' Yeah, that would go well.
"She can't get engaged to both of you."
"That's exactly why," he replied; still making sure to keep his voice quiet, because he knew that otherwise it would sound haughty.
Sakura closed her eyes briefly. Naruto's hand was clenched on his lap.
"Legally, it isn't possible to marry two people, however much one might want to. We had to choose, rationally, which one of us would be best received as a husband." But in the end, he thought, so hard that he wasn't sure how they didn't hear, in the end it was just a piece of paper. The noble and ancient institution of marriage -- it didn't mean anything to him. What Sakura meant to him -- that wouldn't change because she would gain a new society-approved title. And what Naruto meant to him... there would never be enough words for it, and maybe that was fine. It was special; it was his own. He didn't want to fit it into a mold; compress some parts, cut off some others that had the misfortune of sticking out. He liked it the way it was, the three of them hopelessly tangled together in ways that totally defied common conventions.
"But you still plan on allowing... On -- afterwards..." She paused, waving at Naruto, visibly searching for words. Sakura was tense, eyes still closed in weariness; Sasuke wondered how many times they'd had this argument in private already.
It wasn't cheating if they were all in the same bed, he thought, and fought to find a way to formulate it diplomatically. In the end, "yes" was all he could reply. She looked at him as if he'd just admitted to planning weekly orgies with whichever neighbors felt like dropping in, and got up, starting to gather the dishes. Her expression shuttered, she disappeared, once again, in the kitchen.
Sasuke got up too, bowing quickly at Yukihiro before following her.
"Haruno-san." He clenched his fists briefly as he stared at her tense shoulders; he wasn't sure what to say, he just knew that he had to say something to salvage the situation. "We both ... have... strong feelings for her," he murmured, violently uncomfortable. He hadn't even told them that to their faces; he didn't want to say anything to that woman. But -- if it shut her up. Maybe it would be worth it. Maybe. He couldn't care less about her feelings; but he couldn't stand the thought of making Sakura choose between her parents and her team. If his own mother -- stop. Stop. Don't think about that.
"But you'll get jealous," she whispered, frustrated, and too caught up in her own internal monologue to notice Sasuke's. "You'll get jealous and kick him out eventually -- he'll cause arguments between you and Sakura, it isn't possible to share someone you love like this..."
"No. Naruto... There was a point in my life where I could have... thrown it all away."
He felt sick; he didn't want to share that, didn't -- it was safe when it was locked away, out of his mind where he didn't have to deal with it anymore.
"My -- friends -- my team. The village. I could have -- you know about that. And he brought me back." He repeated, softly, "he brought me back. So I won't -- I will never be jealous of him. The idea is preposterous."
"You love him," she replied softly, peering at him, visibly confused.
Startled, he could only shrug; even under torture, he wouldn't answer that.
"... Like you love Sakura?"
"No," he replied with a snort, "not at all."
She stared at him a while longer, then relaxed. Sasuke hid away all traces of emotion; if she wanted to be relieved by her assumption that his feelings for Naruto were born out of pure, platonic gratitude, he wasn't going to say anything.
no subject
(And had me in the position of OH CRAP I NEED TO READ THIS OTHER SERIES SO I CAN WRITE ASUKA A PRESENT.)
Seriously, I like this chapter. This is the sort of conversation that needs to be had and is probably at least as hard on all the people going through it as it is for you writing it.